To provide Overview and Scrutiny with an overview of the Council’s performance, both from a financial and operational perspective
Minutes:
The Service Director – Finance and Improvement Services presented the report to Members on the Quarter 1 Performance Report to 30th June 2024 for revenue and capital budget performance; Treasury Management prudential indicators; Organisational Health information including staff turnover, sickness and Council strategic risks; and Corporate Plan well-being objective action plans (including performance indicators and investment). Following conclusion of the presentation of the report, the Chair opened for Members comments and questions.
The Chair thanked the Service Director for the presentation of the report and also for the work in reshaping the documents to ensure an easier read for Members.
The Chair noted the pressure on Adult Services which states is driven by external residential nursing placements but an earlier report stated that it was due to under achievement of income due to low occupancy, and requested clarity. The Chair also referred to Children’s Services and the projected overspend within Early Intervention Services and asked for the reasons for this position.
The Service Director – Finance Services (Community and Children’s Services) explained that the projected under-achievement of income was due to lower occupancy within the Council’s home for the elderly establishments and the projected overspend on external residential placements was in respect of services commissioned from the independent sector and included the provision of specialist placements including nursing care for dementia which the Council’s in-house care homes do not provide. In relation to Children’s Services, the Service Director advised that budget pressures are in respect of employee related costs, including agency workers, linked to service demand, with opportunity being taken to partly off-set these costs through the use of external grant funding.
A Member stated that in her role as Chair of the Education and Inclusion Scrutiny Committee she has visited several schools which have benefitted from the Sustainable Learning for Communities grant to understand what has gone well and stated that the positive benefits the grant has had on pupil and staff wellbeing was clear and commented that it has been a fantastic investment into our schools and would like to see this continue. The Service Director fed back that the Council is looking to continue its ambitious programme of investing in schools and a new Strategic Outline Plan has been submitted to Welsh Government setting out a proposed long-term and, subject to approval, agreed projects will be incorporated into the Council’s Capital Programme.
A Member referred to the People and Communities well-being objective and the action to ensure schools have detailed knowledge of the progress in pupil literacy, numeracy, Welsh and digital skills and targeted training is developed and support provided for schools where there is specific concern in relation to skills development. The Member sought clarity on the reason for this action not being on target for completion by March 2025. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services fed back that there is on-going engagement between the Council and Central South Consortium in this area, and a further update will be requested on the timescale to deliver this action and fed back to Members.
A Member referred to the production of a strategy for a cultural hub in Treorchy and asked why this was not on target. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services advised that there are two officers working on the project and they will shortly be engaging with the local community. He advised that the Service will also be requested to provide further information directly to the Member on the approach to be taken.
A Member asked for an update on the Community route between Treorchy and Treherbert. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services advised that the current position will be requested from the Service and fed back to the Committee.
A Member referred to the overspend on Street Cleansing as a concern as there is still a lot of litter and fly-tipping throughout the County Borough and asked if enough is being undertaken to educate people on the impact of fly-tipping and littering. Another Member agreed with the comments and stated they would not like to see the budget reduced in this area, rather increased. Another Member commented that the Council should pursue legal proceedings where people continue to offend in this area. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services advised that street cleansing was a key priority area within the Council’s Corporate Plan, this being informed by feedback from residents. The Service Director went on to indicate that the Council undertakes awareness raising activities to support the importance of maintaining a clean environment, alongside on-the-ground street cleansing services, and enforcement is a last resort. He also fed back that street cleansing will continue to be a key priority for the Council and would relay the Committee’s feedback to the Service as part of informing on-going service delivery.
In response to a query raised on staff sickness, the Service Director -Finance and Improvement Services informed the Committee that a range of work was on-going to support improvement in staff attendance levels. The Service Director went on to feed back that timely information is provided to managers on staff absence, with arrangements in place for this to be reviewed and challenged and a suite of supportive interventions is in place via the Council’s Occupational Health Unit to help staff return to the workplace as timely as possible. A Member asked what measures were specifically in place to provide support to schools in managing their sickness. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services advised that there are Council Human Resources Officers specifically designated to schools to provide support and advice on HR matters, including sickness, with school-based staff also having access to the range of interventions available from the Council’s Occupational Health Unit.
A Member raised concerns on the projected overspend within Adult Social Care and was aware of the ongoing pressures on this service area. The Member asked are we getting the modelling right and were resources in the right place for the service area. The Service Director – Finance (Community and Children’s Services) fed back that Adult Services is demand led and subject to volatility based on the changing needs of service users requiring support. The Service Director added that the projected overspend is impacted by a number of high-cost placements in line with individual care needs, and the Council works closely with the Health Board to understand service user needs to put in place appropriate and the most cost effective arrangements possible.
In response to a query on grant funding, the Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services advised that grant funding applications are aligned, as far as possible, to the Council’s Corporate Plan well-being objectives and are incorporated into financial projections at the point the Council receives confirmation of award of funding.
In response to a query in respect of the action within the People and Communities action plan to establish the detail for the operational model for an urgent community response, the Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services indicated that an update will be requested from the Service and provided to Committee Members.
A Member referred to the Capital Programme variances and asked that future reports include examples of why key projects and schemes have been re-profiled. The request was noted and the Service Director – Finance and Improvement Services confirmed that information in this regard will be incorporated into future Performance Reports.
A Member referred to the Tackling Poverty risk within the Strategic Risk Register, that set out the Council’s ability to respond to emerging cost of living pressures and changes in national fiscal policy will require a dynamic approach to risk management; the Member asked how the Council will mitigate this position. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services fed back that a range of actions are being progressed via neighbourhood networks and supporting community groups to develop community resilience. The Service Director went on to provide examples of support arrangements that included food bank support, housing support, engagement with families on the poverty line, employment support programmes to prepare families for work such as interview skills and working with local businesses to provide job opportunities. The Chair was pleased to note in the Report that the social value model has been embedded into procurement procedures as it has made a big difference to our local communities.
A Member referred to the findings of the Your Voice Survey to set 2024-25 priorities for YEPS and partners to meet the needs of young people aged 11-25 and asked if there is sufficient time to complete this by March 25. The Service Director fed back that clarity would be sought from the service area and be incorporated within the Quarter 2 Performance Report.
A Member referred to the projected overspend in Adult Services - Commissioned Services and asked what the contributing factors were. The Service Director – Finance (Community and Children’s Services) fed back that nursing and residential care placements is the key area driving the current projected overspend position, with some placements having significant cost implications including transition placements between Children’s and Adult Services. Members emphasised the on-going need for Council Services to work together on transitional arrangements.
A Member asked if there are any initiatives to increase housing capacity. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement advised that the Council has secured a Social Housing Grant of £22m for the current year and this is supporting a number of housing related projects. The Service Director went on to feed back that an Empty Property Scheme is in place to encourage and help home-owners to apply for grant funding to bring homes back into use and he provided an example in respect of homelessness whereby a housing assessment centre is in place which focusses on single people who are homeless to provide them with appropriate accommodation. Members were reassured that this continues to be a high priority area of focus for the Council.
A Member asked if the Toilet Strategy could be shared with Members following the meeting.
A Member asked what officers are doing to counteract overspending across all service areas. The Service Director - Finance and Improvement Services advised that Finance Officers and Service Managers are working closely together on an on-going basis to review and challenge all areas of expenditure and income, staffing levels and vacant positions and grant funding opportunities. The Service Director added that the Council has a good track record in this regard, as part of robust finance and service management arrangements, and Members will be kept up-to-date on progress as part of quarterly Performance Reports.
A Member asked if information could be referenced on agency expenditure as part of future updates.
The Chair thanked the officers for the report and reflected that some of the key themes from the report can be picked up by the various Scrutiny Committees and asked the Chairs to reflect on their Work Programmes to pick up any issues at their future meetings.
Following conclusion of discussions it was RESOLVED to
1. Scrutinise the Council’s financial and operational performance position as at 30th June 2024 (Quarter 1).
Consider whether they wish to scrutinise in greater depth any matters contained in the report in line with the Terms of Reference of the Committee.
Supporting documents: